A
brief history of the Horsham Motor Sports Club Inc
The
Horsham Motor Sports Club began with humble
beginnings in 1967.
The bulk of the original members coming
from the Horsham Light Car Club.
The
first President of the HMSC was Robert Tucker, who
has lived in Grafton for some time.
As most members were owner-drivers, Horsham
became a travelling car club for many years.
Club
members Col McDonald and Bill Norris were the
first in the club to own speedway cars having dual
membership with Warrnambool and were the first of
a long list of successful drivers to travel from
the Horsham Club.
Some of the tracks the early members
travelled to, to compete at were Warrnambool,
Portland, Hamilton, Mortlake, Stawell, Simpson and
Nhill. As
the years went on they began to travel further
afield.
The
HMSC has had many drivers in the Standard and more
recently Limited Sportsman classes.
Drivers the likes of Nev Eltze, Eric
Davidson, Percy Puls and many others attained
tremendous success for the Horsham Club.
There have been many successful members in
Saloon classes also with Nev Eltze topping the
list over his long speedway career, together with
Steve Ellis, Peter Watts, Gavin and David Puls in
more recent times.
Lady
drivers made their mark in speedway through the
Horsham Club, some of these were Marion Kowarzik,
Kathy Wilson, Carole Baker and more recently Dot
McMaster, Katrina Berry, Leanne Wilde, Nicole
Simpson and Sharon Watts.
In
approximately 1986 the Horsham Motor Sports Club
went into recess and members combined with Nhill
to form the Wimmera Motorsports Club.
After about six years the Horsham Motor
Sports Club was re formed.
Due
to the foresight and many hours of planning and
meetings by dedicated and hardworking members
headed by Chris Wilde, Rod Berry, Robert Tucker
and Dick Gill, the HMSC was to have its own track.
In 1989 the Club went into fundraising mode for
two years with raffles, bottle drives, cake
stalls, etc, thus providing the initial $10,000
for the new Speedway. In 1991 the Horsham Motor
Sports club had an enrolment of 30 members.
They called a public meeting in September
1993 with the Wimmera Shire and Horsham City
Council, to locate a suitable site for a speedway.
The site that was approved after many
meetings was on farming land belonging to Laurie
Smith of Kalkee, where the Blue Ribbon Raceway is
situated today.
On
May 27th, 1995 the first earthworks
began. The
track was built by Club members through working
bees supervised by the then President, Robert D
Tucker of Horsham.
The first practice meeting was held in
February 1996 followed by the first race meeting
in March 1996.
 The
Blue Ribbon Raceway was officially opened by Mr
Alan Jones, President of the VSC, on November 27,
1996. Facilities for these opening meetings were
fairly ordinary, with hired portable toilets, a
tent for a canteen, a pit box, that was still in
need of improvements.
Thankfully, due to much more hard work by
the members, now counting 100 plus, and a very
supportive community, these facilities have moved
forward. A
toilet block became a permanent fixture in
September 1996 thanks to ten members of the Club
and Kalkee community loaning $10,000 to the Club
for the project. The Main Canteen building was
purchased from the field days site for $5000 by
two members for the Club also in September 1996.
All of this was on loan to the Club until
the Club was in the financial position to repay
the money. Work
continued in the pit box and Stewards area for the
96-97 season as it did elsewhere around the
facility. The
96-97 season also saw the extension of the
windbreak fence on the south of the track and the
beginnings of investigations into lighting for the
track, as it was costing $2000 per meeting to hire
the light tower from Adelaide. There was also the
need to investigate power for the complex as
generators were borrowed from farmers in the area
and from Jeparit for each race meeting, which
meant members needed to collect and return these
each time. Pie
warmers, urns etc were kindly loaned by the Kalkee
FBC for each meeting for use in the Canteen.
In
the early part of the 96-97 season it became
obvious that we needed toilet facilities in the
pit area, as well as food available for the
competitors, officials and spectators on the pit
side of the track.
Members went searching again and found two
small buildings up for tender at the Horsham
Technical School site.
The Club tendered and was successful, once
again members assisted, this time donating the
money required.
The
lighting project was found to be well above the
fundraising capabilities of the Club with a total
cost of $86550.
The Club successfully applied to the Dept
of Youth, Sport and Recreation and received a
grant of
$15000,
towards the project. Musco the lighting firm
supplying the fittings allowed the Club to defer
the final payment until halfway through the 96-97
season to assist with the funding.
A loan of $25,000 was borrowed
from
the Bank and the Club had successfully raised the
rest with the careful planning and hard work to
which they were now accustomed.
The Horsham Sports and Community Club
kindly assisted with a $2000 grant towards the
shortfall in the lighting funding.
The
lighting project also needed to be powered, and
once again members went on the hunt, with Robin
Thomas, Wes Bell and David Moore travelling all
the way to Gippsland in the hunt.
They found a 250kva generator, which would
power the whole complex and came back to discuss
it with the Club.
As usual, money was the only hic-cup, and
again the members dug into their pockets with 11
members purchasing the generator.
At
this time it was also becoming very hard for the
Club to arrange a grader for every race meeting as
the original sponsors of grader and water trucks,
AH Plant were closing their Branch in Horsham.
Unbelievably five local community and Club
members went looking and purchased a grader for
the Club to use.
The same was happening when trying to find
track rollers for the race meetings, with members
spending hours collecting and returning these.
A roller was purchased from Bakers in
Murtoa, partly sponsored, and paid for by two
members. A
second roller was leased from the Hindmarsh Shire,
with the idea that it may be available for sale at
a later date.
Water
trucks also needed to be sourced.
John Aisbett loaned an old truck to the
Club for as long as it wished to use it, Mobil
Horsham donated the tank for it and a member
purchased the water pump, fittings, bar, hoses,
taps and water pump for the Club to also use for
as long as it wished.
Members repaired and painted the truck and
it has been signwritten.
An Austin truck was donated to the Club by
Rick Smith, with the provision that he had control
of the signwriting on the doors. The
water tank and fittings, on this truck, have been
loaned by G & J Brain.
 The
Club successfully applied to conduct the VSC
Victorian Street Stock Title at Horsham in March
1997, and needed to organise a scrutineering shed
for events such as these.
Once again members kept their eyes peeled
and found some unused sheds on farms in the area.
Owners were approached and the buildings
were either donated or sold to the Club for
figures like $100, providing the sites were
cleaned up and in some cases some other clean up
work completed for the land owner.
Hence the arrival of the scrutineering shed
in time for the State Title. A tower to include
lighting and speakers for driver calls and
announcements was also installed at this stage.
The 97-98 season also saw the GP Midget Australian
Title contested at the Blue Ribbon Raceway, and
the Hoosier series round for Sprintcars. In
September 1997 the inaugural Vintage Tractor
Display also featured.
The
Club had to cancel a meeting and very nearly a
second one during the 97-98 season due to the
water in the centre of the track after rain, and
in the pits.
Once again members decided it was time to
get busy and after raising the funds for the $2400
of pipe the drainage was installed by members with
the loan of a digger at no charge and the donation
of the sand required.
This job required 247 man-hours from
volunteers at working bees.
The
Club felt at this time that they would also like
to see a return of the fun and sociable side of
speedway, as it was in years gone by.
The Club aimed to provide facilities to
enable travellers to camp overnight at the track.
This dream was later realised in September
1998 with the installation of a toilet and shower
block in the pit area.
A member loaned the money for the purchase
of the block pre season, and this was repaid
during the season when funds were available.
The
idea of a canteen on the pit side proved to be
very profitable and after only one season the very
small room being used was not able to cope with
the demand. The
Club sourced another building to put in its place,
and this was in place in time for the 98-99 season
to open. The
smaller building was moved to the North-East
Corner where it is used as a booth and some food
sales.
In
November 1998 the HMSC was informed that a round
of the World Series Sprintcars would be conducted
at the Blue Ribbon Raceway in December 1998. This
was very exciting for all concerned with the Club
as it is the pinnacle of Speedway racing.
However, with this came another adjustment
which needed to be made.
The
pits
would not be large enough for the big transporters
which carried the Sprintcars.
It was decided to immediately extend the
pit area in time for December 28th, and
this was achieved with fundraising activities.
With
the bigger and faster cars then racing at the
track, it was felt that a special foam fire unit
should be investigated in case of fires when
accidents occurred.
The usual procedure followed with a ute
being donated and members working hard to repair,
replace panels, paint, signwrite and Rosevears
built a wonderful frame on the back of the whole
unit, and very generously donated their time.
A local panel beater Mr Krahe also very
generously donated many hours to this project.
The final result of all this work is a
vehicle any race track would be proud of and have
confidence in.
Parts of the foam unit and pump were once
again purchased by a member and loaned to the Club
for as long as they wished to use it.
The
Club was also having problems with the septic
tanks not handling larger crowds and the cost to
the Club was approx $500 to have the septic
pumping truck on hand for these meetings.
It was decided that this was too large an
expense for so many occasions, and the members
worked for hours once again raised the $2000 for
the scoria and pipe. The digger was loaned and the
sand donated again, and of course all the hours of
labour from the volunteers, and realm drains were
installed at both the public and pit area toilets
in December 1998.
The
world series event attracted approximately 5500
people and Club members and officials were
delighted with the number of people who visited
the Blue Ribbon Raceway for this occasion.
February
1999 also saw the Monster Truck Show hire the Blue
Ribbon Complex.
This brought a huge crowd, but the Club was
extremely disappointed with the quality of the
show, and believed that the public had been
shortchanged with the show and with the quality
and price of the food sold by the Truck Show
catering firm.
Club officials will investigate shows more
closely in future to ensure that the public is
looked after.
During
the early months of 1999, a Barn which had been
donated to the Club, was moved in to the pit area
to be used for drivers talks, meetings and social
functions. Doors,
windows, a roller door, furniture, and labour have
been donated once again with a wonderful result.
As
dust is a continual problem on the Wimmera Plains,
the Club decided in the off season in 1999 to
grass the spectator areas.
However, insufficient rains caused this to
fail. This
project was finally completed in March 2000 and
now provides much improved facilities for
spectators.
In
late 2000 the ramp from the spectator banks down
to the toilet facilities was commenced with the
assistance of a Council grant of $5000.
The disabled toilets are yet to be
completed.
To
conduct a race meeting the Club requires an
average of 60- 80 volunteers to cover all
positions within gates, parking, canteens,
officials, emergency crews, etc.
This is a very big commitment to ask of
members and volunteers on a continual basis, and
it poses a continual challenge to ensure that
enough personnel are available to cover the wide
variety of tasks.
The
Committee is finding the cost involved in running
a race meeting, together with repaying loans, and
funding continual developments requires carefully
controlled finances. Careful advertising and good
Publicity is essential to maintain crowds, and
this is continually being monitored and ideas
tried. Any
suggestions for attracting more local attendance
at race meetings would be gratefully received.
Sponsorship
has been obtained from several businesses in
Horsham and surrounding districts, which is
extremely valuable and encouraging.
The
HMSC has three life members, Eric Davison, Neville
Eltze and Kevin Baker.
The
Blue Ribbon Raceway is owned and operated by the
Horsham Motor Sports Club Inc (A0022818D), and is
situated 18 km North of Horsham on the Kalkee
Road.
The
track surface is red sandstone- clay mix and has a
pole line of 410metres, with 20 metre wide corners
and 15 metre wide straights.
The track is rated as an ‘A’.
The
Club tries to continually run a variety of classes
and features, and welcomes all enthusiasts to come
and see our complex and judge for themselves.
The Club also welcomes others who wish to
join the friendly ranks of the volunteers.
In
the 2000/2001
the NASR Junior Development Training Program was
commenced at Horsham following the training of
four Committee members at Newcastle.
This program has been a huge success and is
of great benefit in preparing our Juniors for
racing. Horsham
is now adding to it’s fleet of Junior cars to
extend the program further and conduct it more
regularly. Those
involved in the program believe there is scope to
extend the program to include further training and
to also modify the program for adults wishing to
go racing.
Some
of the future plans for the Blue Ribbon complex
include more shedding for the Club vehicles, a new
or extended Pit tower to better serve the needs of
Stewards, lapscorers, commentators, videoing etc.
Anyone
wishing to inspect the Complex is more than
welcome and should contact the Club to arrange a
mutually convenient time.
Blue Ribbon
Raceway is covered by the NASR/FAS public Liability Insurance policy
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